Multi-sector Advisory Council (MAC)

PREVENT’s Management Team conducts the initial assessment of potential vaccine candidates, and viable candidates are then referred to the Multi-sector Advisory Council.

The Multi-sector Advisory Council consists of up to 9 representatives from various organizations including public health agencies; academic institutions; pharma, biotech contract manufacturing organization; and venture capital community. The criteria for referral to the MAC are based on three points:

Feasibility of a product’s success based on its “proof of principle” results, market assessment and competitive activity.

Assessing the degree to which a product meets a public health need.

Determining market receptor capacity for such a product.

The MAC evaluates the development prospect of candidate vaccines based on three criteria:

Priority – Every candidate within PREVENT addresses a public health need based on mortality, morbidity and burden-of-disease calculations, with secondary consideration for the economic impact of disease. While national priorities often differ from global priorities, PREVENT also evaluates products based on their potential contribution to Canada’s commitment to the World Health Organization and Millennium Development Goals.

Canadian Expertise – Canadians must capitalize on the unique skills, innovation, and capabilities of the Canadian vaccine community. PREVENT has amassed key Canadian investigators and technology platforms, and through appropriate utilization of such expertise, resources and infrastructure can extend synergies among consortium partners into global vaccine market leadership for its products.

Commercial Potential – The decision to invest PREVENT’s resources in a product will require assessment of critical commercial factors, including the likelihood of securing partnerships for co-development and/or receptors, potential market size, the likelihood of and anticipated return on investment, legal freedom to operate and/or availability of third-party patent rights, regulatory or licensing obstacles, and the potential costs of liability exposure.

The MAC prepares a report addressing the above topics for potential candidate technologies which is provided to the Board for their consideration and review. Their independent review in conjunction with Management’s recommendations is used to assess candidate approval by the Board.

Did you Know

Escherichia coli (E. coli), is a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. Most E. coli strains are harmless and are part of the normal beneficial flora of the gut, but some, such as serotype O157:H7, can cause serious food poisoning in humans.